The Audience's Angel
by Taxi 'Cab' Beau
Summary: Maximum Ride, a world famous actress, just wants a normal life. Just when she thinks she's found some normal friends, she finds that they'll be filming together! Trapped between two worlds, literally. AU, please read! Summary sucks  S
1. Chapter 1

**Naha, new story! Yes, I am totally irresponsible. I know, I know. I couldn't help it, inspiration struck me - in the middle of a Latin test, mind you - and I had to start writing it. If nobody likes it I'll stop, but I like it. It's AU, obviously, with no wings, and so far Iggy (James) isn't blind. He might go blind later, though. Nudge, Angel, Max, JJ, and Ella are all 15, and Iggy and Fang are 16~ **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride *sob*, House of Night *sob!* or My Chemical Romance *SOB!*  
**

Hi, I'm Max. You might know me as a Maximum Ride - that's right, the world famous actress.

I've always been really tall for my age. My mom, Marion Ride, signed me up for modelling when I was 12, along with the theatre I've done since I was a toddler. I posted a lot of my pictures online, and sold them and stuff – we're not exactly poor, if you know what I mean. Then at one of my bigger plays, _Twelfth Night_ – I was Viola – I got scouted by one of them talent scouts, and I got an agent and all of that stuff. Soon enough I was auditioning for movies and getting roles – generally big ones. That's the story of how Maximum Ride became a huge hit actress at the age of 13.

However, Maximum Ride isn't the end of the story. I'm still down to earth, and despite all the fame I'm still me. I currently live with my dad, Jeb Batchelder and my stepmom Anne Walker. Mom doesn't mind, as long as she sees me once a month and bla, bla, bla. Anne is nice, but strict. She and Jeb home school me, which is cool, and they let me live the life of a mostly normal 15 year old girl. I have friends, we go out as long as nobody recognizes me, and I do theatre in my neighbourhood under the name of Maxine Walker. It doesn't bother me, really – everyone calls me Max.

Today I was in the mood to get out. My friends Ella and JJ – who know I'm really Maximum Ride – were busy studying for school, so I was basically alone. We met at theatre when we were kids, and they were my only true friends back when I became famous. I was sick of the fake friends so I came to live with Jeb and Anne. Mom is such a drill sergeant, anyways – wake up early, practice, audition, study, sleep. I barely had time for friends - Ella, JJ and I call her 'The Director'. She thinks that she's the boss of my life, which sucks.

At 5 I was supposed to meet up with my friends Angelica and Tiffany – or Angel and Nudge, as we prefer – at Angel's house for a 'tea party'. She loves dressing up like a doll and wearing that weird frilly Lolita clothing – which I find kind of strange, to be honest – and I wasn't going to rain on her parade. She and Nudge are my best famous friends, and know what it's like to be constant gossip fodder. They both rock, even though they are really, really girly.

In the meantime, I decided I would hang out in town. Getting ready took a while: I tied my boring, brown hair up into a ponytail and then tucked it under my favorite hat (a deviant Art 'box cap') leaving just a few bits to frame my face because, let's be honest here, most people look better with hair around their face. Me included. I pulled on a plain red T-shirt and a pair of grey jeans (with a hole in the left knee from that time I busted face on a skateboard) and then just put on an old pair of battered Nike sneakers. All I needed was my ancient (red, again) messenger bag and my skateboard and I was good to go! Did I mention I love skateboarding? 'Cuz I do.

Anne didn't mind that I went out, although she warned me not to get home to late, because I needed to get ready for later and more crap like that. I nodded, and said I wouldn't, and basically pretended I listened to her nag. I like Anne, really I do, but she acts like she's my mom or something. And I'm not exactly a little kid, either. I skated away, just taking some time to get away from the house. I'm really claustrophobic so being inside for a long time stresses me out. Another reason I hate cars. I never gave a first one, did I? Well now I have.

I stopped at Starbucks to get a coffee and then just basically wandered through a park, looking around and such. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to fly –like, wings fly, since airplanes scare the bejeezus out of me – so I was thinking about that when I totally walked into someone, and since I was holding coffee, any guess to what happened? Anybody…? Well if you guessed, 'spilled coffee on complete stranger', you were correct!

"Ohmigod, I am so sorry!" I cried, looking up at the guy. He was about my age, maybe older, but he was still a couple inches taller than me – so more older, yeah? He had dark floppy hair, not quite emo but close to it and these kind of blackish eyes. One side of his mouth quirked up.

"I am so so sorry," I said, rummaging around in my bag until I found some Kleenex and started dabbing at his shirt. "That was retarded of me, are you okay?"

"Well it's not like hot coffee is going to kill me," he said nonchalantly.

"No, seriously, I feel really bad. Can I get you something to drink, to make up for it?" I looked up at him. Fairness is really big to me so I really wanted to make it up for this guy. "I'm Max, Maxine Walker. What's your name?"

"I'm Fang," he said, looking at me as if daring me to laugh or something.

"Well then, can I make it up to you somehow… Fang?"

"Sure. A drink would be cool."

So I found myself back at Starbucks, paying for some guy with a name that means tooth 's drink. I got him what he wanted – black coffee – and let myself get another latte as I sat down next to him.

"Thanks," he said as I passed him his drink. I waited for him to say something for a while, but he didn't.

"You don't talk much, do you?" I asked him curiously.

"Not as much as you, it seems," he smirked. "So, Maxine Walker, who are you?"

"Well," I said, stirring my drink. "My name is Max, please. I live around here with my dad and step-mom, I'm home schooled which is probably why I don't know you, I do modelling part-time and I'm in to drama." None of which were lies, mind you. See? With me, it's more important to see what I don't say than what I do. "Your turn. Who are you, oh mysterious Dark One?"

"The only name you need remember me by is Fang, I go to the Lerner Day and Night School, and I act." He smiled briefly and it was like, the day became brighter. I could tell this kid didn't smile much.

"Hey, my friends go there. Ella Martinez and Jennifer Joy Cabot mean anything to you?"

"Yeah, I might have heard of them. They seem nice I guess."

We sat like that in companionable silence for I don't know how long, occasionally saying something. It was nice – we seemed to always be on the same wavelength. I was enjoying the silence when all of a sudden my cell phone rang with "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance. He smirked at me, as if to say 'ringtone much?' but I ignored him and answered.

"Hello?"

"MAXIMU –"

"Hi, Anne, I'm with a friend," I cut her off worriedly, glancing back at Fang, who thankfully hadn't reacted. This close to blowing my secret!

"MAX! It's 4:30, where are you? We need to get you ready to go to Angel's!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry! I lost track of the time," I said, scrambling to my feet and chucking my crap back into my bag. "I'll be right there, I'm really really sorry Anne! Bye!" I hung up hurriedly and stuffed my phone in my pocket. "Fang, I'm sorry, I totally forgot I had stuff to do, maybe I'll see you later?" Not even waiting a reply, I jumped on my skateboard and was outta there like a bat out of hell.

The last half hour was a total rush. It was whir of changing, putting on makeup, curling my hair, getting herded into the car and whooshed out of there – enough to make a person – or me, at least – dizzy. Anne had stuffed me into this dress that Angel and Nudge had picked out for me –isn't too bad, mind you – (**A.N/ find it at http :/ images . cosplay . com /i/ costumes /200/ 205714 . jpg !)** and despite looking great I felt like I was a little doll. I wasn't Max now; I was another one of my characters. I kept up the act, smiling graciously and walking daintily, although in my head I kept on mocking myself in my lacy tights, old-fashioned bonnet and corkscrew curls.

Angel and Nudge were wearing matching outfits and both looked really cute. Flimsy and breakable, but beautiful none the less. We greeted each other formally, smiled and waved to the few paparazzi by the gate and then delicately walked up the path to Angel's big, white house with our lace parasols and such, until we were inside and the door was closed, where we all flopped down on the couch. Well, I flopped, they sat.

"Angel, Nudge, I love you guys, but the whole porcelain doll act is kind of old, no?"

"But Max, it's symbolic! In a time period where beauty equates to short skirts and skimpy clothing Lolita style is a return to the modesty and elegance of Victorian times, and through it women can feel cute and elegant!"

"Thank you Motormouth Nudge!" I laughed.

"You look really pretty, Max,"

"Aww, thanks sweetie." I hugged her. Even though Angel is three years younger than me, she's one of my best friends. Our parents – that is, The Director and her mom – are really close friends so we're always seeing each other, and when she was smaller I would babysit her – and still do sometimes.

"Hey Max? Next time you come you should totally wear that dress with the white boots and the black-and-white Alice Bow from Angelic Pretty. It goes really well with your complexion, and the contrast with your hair is cool. You have such pretty eyes!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks, Nudge. Just brown and brown – amazing, ain't it?"

"No! Remember when we all went to France to shoot that vampire movie, and Ari and Gazzy ate a whole box of chocolate, but didn't know there was alcohol in them and puked?" Ari and Gazzy – real name Zephyr, but due to his horrible digestive problems we call him the Gasman – are my 10-year-old twin stepbrothers.

"My eyes look like barfed up chocolate?" I asked faintly.

"No, before they were barfed."

"So my eyes look like un-barfed chocolate. Thanks, Nudge! You sure know how to cheer me up," I said with a cheerful smile.

"Oh, its no proble – that was sarcasm, wasn't it?" she gave me a dirty look.

I was about to retaliate with a smart aleck answer when there was a knock at the door. We all straightened, the sweet dollies and what not.

"Oh, Maximum, Tiffany – there are some people to meet us. My mother has thrown a gathering for the rest of the cast of _Marked._ Don't fret, Max – the dress code is the same, we won't be the only ones dressed like this. Shall we go greet them?"

_Marked _is the latest movie we're working on. It's about a boarding school for vampires etc etc. It's based on a book series by PC Cast, by the way. I'm playing the main part, a girl called Zoey who has powers –affinities, sorry – for the elements and such. Nudge and Angel play 'the twins', who are actually opposites and not related, more mind twins. A girl called Ami Parker was going to play my supposed 'BFF' Stevie Rae, who's a total cowgirl. This guy James Jeffson was going to play Damien, the gay guy of the group, and then Lissa Dweyer, who's a nice girl I've worked with before is going to play Aphrodite, the mean girl. Her sister, Brigid Dweyer plays the principal. The only member I haven't met yet was the elusive Nick Venom, who supposedly plays my love interest. Whatever.

Everyone else was dressed up in fancy garden party dresses, and there was a big table with tea and cake and crap and little tables with chairs. Nudge, Angel and I greeted everybody individually and made small talk. Having greeted everybody but one, I did a quick recon. Brigid and Lissa were chatting to Ami; Nudge was discussing car engines with James (she loves cars, even with all the lace crap, kind of contradictory ain't it?) and Angel was pouring herself some tea. I must be really distracted today, because someone had been saying my name the whole time.

"Maximum? Hello, Maximum. Earth to Ride."

"Pardon? Sorry, I'm distracted today…"

I looked up to see myself staring at the illusive half-smirk of none other than… C'mon, guess? No? Dark, mysterious? Yes – that's right! I was looking up into who else but Strong and Silent Type, Fang.

**Well? Love it? Hate it? Consider it 5 pages on Word wasted? Tell me in a review~! They make the world go round for me~!**


	2. Chapter 2

**YOU GUYS ROCK! 4 reviews on my first day, I feel so loved. This chapter is kind of a filler, but I needed to get this done with before I could move onto some better stuff. I'd also like to thank PurpleTea88, The Illusionist's Wings04 (who needs some help getting readers), MaeWithWings97 and Maximum-Games, who reviewed the first chapter. I would love some more reviews, even though this chapter kind of sucks and gets off subject towards the end... I also explained the 'Venom' thing because somebody pointed out that it was a kind of weird name...  
**

**Next chapter include Iggy and Gazzy blowing crap up~! **

**I do not own Maximum Ride or Grease! Each goes to it's respective owners :3 I do own this story, though~!  
**

Fang? Wait, wait, rewind and pause.

Had I been in 'Max' mode I would have jumped a foot in the air and yelled "Fang, WTF are you doing here?" However, today – well, for now at least – I was porcelain dolly Maximum Ride and had to answer graciously.

"You must be Nicholas Venom. Pleased to meet you. I suppose in the next few months I'll know you as Erik…?"

"Should I call you Zoey then?" he smirked at me. "I'd prefer to call you Max. Now tell me – what's a tough chick who plays in action and sci-fi movies stuffed into a lace dress?"

"Find me on any other day I'll be wearing sweatpants and a tank-top," I said, dropping the Victorian tone. I knew it was dangerous but I didn't care – I needed to get out of this role.

"I think I'd like to meet you on another day," he smiled. I was about to respond when Lissa came over and threw her arms around his neck.

"Fangy! I missed you, where were you all day?" she pouted. I almost gagged, but then remembered that I was supposed to be 'modest and elegant' so I held myself back. Barely.

"I was hanging out with another model. We were thinking of taking pictures together," he soothed her. My ears pricked with interest at that – did he really want to take pictures with me, or was he saying that to Lissa? "By the way, Maximum, this is my girlfriend Lissa."

"We've already met, although I didn't know you were a couple." Fang didn't seem the type to go well with redheads. Well, she would be wearing a blonde wig for this but nonetheless my point stands.

Much more boring niceties followed, including listening to Lissa rant about the high cost of proper stockings. I talked about the CSM with Brigid for a while, who was considering joining. The CSM is a humanitarian group founded by Mrs Martinez – Dr Martinez, sorry. It's about stopping pollution and such, and I was a member – both as Maximum Ride and Maxine Walker.

"Maximum? Maximum!" God, what is with me today? I need to get more sleep, literally. My head is up there with the birdies, flapping away and cawing about fish and such.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I asked you, who's your favorite singer?"

"My Chemical Romance," I answered without thinking. Brigid blinked at me, then smiled. I noticed Fang turn his head slightly towards me while listening to Lissa go on about glasses versus contact lenses.

"Oh. That's…" It was obvious that Dweyer had expected something like Katy Perry or something. "I like Katy Perry and Justin Bieber," she said, smiling. I knew it!

"Ohmigosh, I love them too!" Nudge bounced over and started chattering. There goes delicate and modest. I thought wryly.

It was already 7:30 and nowhere near ending. I politely asked James if he could lend me a pen, which he did, and I scribbled a note to Angel on a napkin telling her I needed to get the hell out of there. I dumped the bonnet and shoes behind a tree (already preparing myself for the rant of the century by Nudge) and sneakily scaled one of those big leafy trees, can't remember the name, which stood near the back of the garden. My moment of stealth would have been complete if, on the other side of the wall, I hadn't jumped down right in front of a reporter.

"Maximum!" he said, jumping up and preparing his camera. I groaned. "Can you explain what happened here?"

"Well, I got tired of this scene and since I knew I wouldn't be able to get out I tried to sneak, which failed. Do you Mind keeping this quiet? Thanks…" I smiled and walked down the street, barefoot in just my stockings, totally calm and collected. Trust me though – on the inside I was swearing like a sailor. Unfortunately, I have younger fans so I can hardly be seen using that kind of language on camera. Wouldn't want to get sued by some overprotective mother, would I?

I trudged my way home, sticking to the backstreets and such so not to bring too much attention to myself. Checking nobody was around; I unlocked the door and let myself in. Once I was inside and safe, I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. Being a role is so exhausting. Playing the Porcelain Doll is hard enough, but then getting seen by a reporter? Today SUCKED. With a capital – hell, in caps lock! The only highlight was meeting Fang… who, it turns out, also has a celebrity persona. Wonder where this will lead… In the meantime, I'm too busy being me again to care. I greeted Anne and sat down at the island counter in the kitchen, helping myself to some hot chocolate. She had me explain what happened, and then smiled and ruffled my hair.

"It's a shame you were caught, and I think you could have stayed, but I would have done the same thing." She winked at me and put her coat on. "I was just about to head to the office to pick up some files, do you mind watching the boys for me?"

"Of course not – wouldn't want Gazzy to blow anything up." THIS IS NOT EXAGGERATION. My little brother – half-brother – Zephyr can make a bomb out of just about anything. Ari, thankfully, isn't as chaotic but they can be quite a handful.

"BOYS! COME DOWN HERE," I called, rummaging through the fridge. Some suspicious 'thunk's and a muffled cry of "No, not there, hide it!" later, the twins were sitting around the table with me. The Gasman looks just like Anne, with big blue eyes and fluffy blonde hair, more often than not spiky and such (probably all the electricity this kid messes with). Ari is more like Jeb, but unique in his own way. He has brown eyes, like I do, and his hair is kind of a russet-brown color. It's like, wolf colored. He always gets really proud and happy whenever someone points it out so sometimes we call him Wolfie to cheer him up. Or, contrariwise, Fido, to piss him off.

"Okay, Anne has gone to the office to get something, so I'll find something for you to eat and then you can go back and play upstairs. But later, I am going to search your room and if I find ANYTHING related to bombs or explosions, you're both dead meat. Got that?"

"Yes!" Gazzy rushed, mental cogs working out new hiding places for his projects.

"Um… Max?" Ari looked up at me thoughtfully.

"Yeah, what is it Wolfie?" He smiled then regained that solemn face.

"You aren't cooking... Are you?"

Gazzy's face turned white. "Oh God, please say we have frozen pizza," he prayed. I rolled my eyes – so what if I'm not a good cook? It hardly matters; I mean, Hot Pockets exist. In fact, Hot Pockets is exactly what the three of us ate, and I felt totally at peace. Being with my family is when I'm happiest, followed closely by being on a set, and being with friends. After making sure they had put their dishes in the dishwasher and that nobody was sneaking any soda after dinner, I climbed up to my room and collapsed on my bed. My iPod was on my nightstand, so I reached over for it and listened to music for I don't know how long, until Anne and Jeb came back. Jeb came and sat next to me for a bit, and then he kissed the top of my head and left. The Jebster is cool and all, and he's a good dad, but he's never home. He basically lives at the CSM Headquarters, where he works. I had barely done anything today – just meet someone new and get dressed up for Angel – but I felt as if I had walked a thousand miles. I didn't even bother changing out of my dress and just passed out fully dressed.

I dreamt that I was just finishing a scene on a movie set; although I can't remember the movie I was in. I laughed and threw a bottle playfully at a redheaded woman, before somebody called my name – not Maximum Ride, but Maxine Walker. I turned around, and saw the dark pools that were Fang's eyes. Then they became real pools of black water and I fell in them. I tried to swim up, but the frilly clothes I was wearing were bringing me down. Just when I was starting to get tunnel vision and though I was going to drown, I was woken by my alarm clock.

"Dude… dream much?" I groaned and rolled over, hitting the snooze button. For future reference: I am not at all a morning person. I was in a horrible mood – if it were a cartoon I would have had a black storm cloud over my head as I showered and got dressed. I had drama today – Saturday, for those who might be wondering with a "What? Shouldn't most people be in school?" face. I dressed in the same clothes I had worn to the park yesterday – today was a lazy day for Maximum. Er, Maxine. I was dressed and out – skating towards the Drama Centre all while practicing my lines. With the Drama Centre we're doing _Grease_, and I got the main role (again), Sandy. Some of the other kids at the Centre were starting to resent me for always getting the lead roles, jealous losers. In the back of my head, I was hoping that there wouldn't be some cliché, 'New Kid – oh look it's Fang!' thing at Drama, because that would be awkward.

I arrived at Rehearsal just in the nick of time, as per usual. JJ and Ella were already there, practicing their parts – Ella got Rizzo and JJ got some cheerleader. Marita, the woman who runs the whole shindig, did a run-through of the play to make sure we all knew what it was about, gave a little info on the characters and how we should act, and set us into groups for the different parts. The guys were on the stage with Renaldo, Marita's boyfriend, learning the Grease Lightning dance. We, on the other hand, were learning some of the musical numbers, although I would much rather have been dancing with the guys. Everything was going well, and there was no cliché movie crap! Yea! Towards the end of the session, the doors opened to show a thunderstorm (it had started raining?), and two totally soaked people came in. Can you guess who they are…? No…? Oh c'mon, it's not hard! If you have at least two brain cells in your head and you realized it would be Fang and that James Jeffson guy, well then you were correct!

Why does this keep happening to me?

Marita was all like, "Oh, you made it, are you okay, did you get lost," yadda yadda yadda, and then introduced them as two new kids who had come to the audition after we all left, and were busy last week but that she hoped we would be nice to them bla bla bla, and all the while I was mentally head-slamming, going WHY? WHY? WHY?

I was totally regretting being friends with such nice people. Ella and JJ were all like, "Oh, we should hang out with the new kids!" It turns out that James – or as he prefers to be called, Iggy – was on the same soccer team as JJ's older brother, Dylan. Iggy and Fang, otherwise known as The Bane of My Existence or Nick Venaim (pronounced Venom, which probably gave the 'Nick Venom' thing) were best friends and are the popular kids at Lerner Day and Night School. Thus being said, returning to the current scene which is a diner not far from the Centre where we were all hanging out and, as JJ puts it, "Catching up with an acquaintance and possibly making a new friend". I had looked at Ella and mouthed the words 'Shoot Me' at her, which made her laugh.

"Fancy meeting you here, stranger," I said to Fang with a smile. Even though I was kind of nervous – and I don't even freaking know why! – I just stayed myself, no act.

"I seem to be seeing you everywhere," he said with a smirk. I froze. Did he know it was me at Angel's house yesterday? "You aren't going to spill coffee on me today, are you?"

"I've already exceeded this weeks limit, although I can work overtime if you want," I teased, sipping my chocolate milkshake.

"It heartens me you'd do that for someone who you met yesterday."

I laughed and explained my goof from yesterday to Ella and JJ, and listened to them chatter about soccer to Iggy. I was totally zoning out – since when am I this distracted? Generally I'm really nervy, aware about all my surroundings. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and pulled it out. Text from Jeb: "Come home please, Ari and Zephyr need watching". I groaned.

"Sorry guys, pyromaniac brothers to babysit. Nice meeting you Iggy, and seeing you again Fang." I got ready to leave, glad to get away, when Ella chirped, "Don't worry, we'll come with, to keep you company!"

"No really, you don't need –"

"Nah, we'll come! Jeb would want the help, right?"

"It's settled, we'll all go to Max's house!" Iggy cheered. I sighed and forced a smile.

"Cool, the more the merrier! Lets go." I put a 5-dollar-bill on the table and left, holding my skateboard under my arm since I was now encumbered with pedestrians. As we walked, Fang leaned over and whispered in my ear, "You might want to know that Iggy is a total pyro. He got kicked out of his last school for blowing up the teachers lab."

Just my freaking luck.


End file.
